Master of Public Health at Pennsylvania State University

The Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) in Public Health program is a professional degree program that builds knowledge and skills in the areas of systems thinking, evidence-based public health, leadership, program planning and management, public health and health systems, communication, and interprofessional practice. In addition, the M.P.H. in Public Health program advances expertise in community and behavioral health, epidemiology and biostatistics, global health, and health systems organization and policy. The M.P.H. degree leads to careers in a wide variety of fields and settings, including local, state, and federal government agencies; health care settings; health insurance industry; health services networks; nonprofits; and the pharmaceutical industry.

The Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) in Public Health program is a professional degree program that provides advanced public health education and training to prepare its graduates for evidence-based practice and leadership in the application of translational science and implementation research findings. It allows graduates to pursue career opportunities in the federal, state, and local government, as well as in the non-profit, academic, and private sectors. Educationally it places an emphasis on discovery, teaching, integration, and application with a primary purpose of bridging research and practice to protect and improve the public's health. The Dr.P.H. builds on Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) competency domains and, as a professional degree, integrates public health practice and project-based learning with local, state, and federal networks to enrich learning in health policy and program development and implementation. The Dr.P.H. program of study includes course work, an advanced field experience, and integrative doctoral research and provides an opportunity for further specialization within a specified cognate.

Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)

• Demonstrate meaningful scholarship through competencies that include evidence-based approaches to public health, public health & health care systems, planning and management to promote health, policy in public health, leadership, communication, interprofessional practice and systems thinking.
• Apply effective communication skills (oral and written) to diverse audiences and with an understanding of the importance of cultural competence.
• Apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to real-world public health issues.
• Synthesize and integrate knowledge acquired in course work and other learning experiences and apply it to analyzing and addressing a public health practice or research challenge.